The Stars In Your Eyes
by kingdom.ruler.13
Summary: Ali can't really sort out the jumble of stars above her to see the pattern Em's talking about so she gives up after a few minutes. Emily takes Alison's left hand in hers,holding it firmly while she points to the pattern she thinks Ali's seeing. Her big brown eyes are sparkling with such mirth as she continues her explanation and Ali sighs dreamily as the stars twinkle above. Emison


**Set somewhere after the events of 5x06 "Run, Ali, Run". ****AU.**

* * *

><p>"Yeah Dad, I'm at Hanna's right now."<p>

The lie leaves her lips automatically and she bites down harshly on her tongue in silent reprimand. She had been trying to change that – the lying thing – but it was such an automatic response on her part that sometimes she had no control over what she said. The lies just rolled off of her tongue so effortlessly the moment she thought of it.

Her dad had called to make sure she was safe at the Marin household and for that she was slightly annoyed. She's told him she's staying at Hanna's when the truth is she doesn't really feel welcomed there. Instead, she's nervously pacing around in her bedroom on the well-worn mahogany floor.

She wasn't used to this – him caring about her more than the casual 'Good morning' before he was out the door on his way to work. But back then he didn't have to…her mom, no matter how distant and messed up their relationship was, usually took care of Alison's every need. Ever since Alison had finally come back to Rosewood two weeks ago, Mr DiLaurentis had been crazy overprotective and even more so when they found her mother's body buried in the Hasting's backyard.

But the fact remains that he's never really home. Her dad's meetings with his clients and impromptu business trips take up way too much of his time so he doesn't actually have time to confirm her story or not. Instead, he seems to be at ease when she's in the company of someone he can trust and tonight is no different. He was insisting that she let him talk to Hanna or her mother to confirm her presence there but Alison was deflecting.

"Hanna's in the shower and her mom will be home soon." Alison lies again and she feels a bit sick at the thought of it. She isn't on the best terms with Hanna right now…or the other girls for that matter. Her dad doesn't know about that rift between her and her friends though. They don't really trust her and even though it hurt to realize that, she has to admit that she doesn't fully trust them either. The one thing that hurt her the most though was losing Emily's trust.

She's not naive. She knew being back in Rosewood would bring up more questions than she was able to provide answers for and with -A still looming over their heads like the ominous threat she was, who knows what else they might have to endure?

She's so sick and tired of -A that she feels the anger, frustration and weariness of the situation making her body tense as she glances out her window with the phone still clutched to her ear. She doesn't really feel safe anywhere, especially in Rosewood where she's out in the open and so vulnerable for -A to use her as one of her dolls.

She's back in Rosewood surrounded by people she bullied when she was younger (although it feels like a lifetime ago to her as she feels as if she's lived two lives in her short lifetime). She can feel their hatred for her literally trying to imprint itself on her skin every time she walks down those familiar hallways.

She honestly doesn't blame them for wanting her gone.

If the roles were reversed and she was one of the victims of her type of bullying, she would have wanted the same thing.

"I'll be back home tomorrow." Mr DiLaurentis confirms and Alison can hear the regret in his tone as he wishes he could be home to look after her. It's something that's so foreign to her but she welcomes it. "I'll tell Jason to stop by and –"

"No!" She all but shouts, her tone sharp and commanding. "I mean, that won't be necessary." She manages to choke out as she feels her throat constrict. Ever since Jason had drunkenly watched her sleep the second night she got back to town she had minimized the amount of time she would spend with him. To put it simply – Jason creeped her out and she was not about to spend more time with him than was absolutely necessary. "Em will drop me home." She reassures him although she was sure that the girl herself wouldn't want to hang out with her.

After a few more words of reassurance on her part, her father finally hangs up the phone and Alison perches herself on the cushioned window seat looking out at the night sky. The sky was a thick blanket of darkness illuminated by the tiny flecks of light sprinkled unevenly throughout. It reminded her of days she'd spend camping with her dad when she was younger and she'd drag Emily along.

She remembers how much Emily loved watching the stars and a soft smile steals across her lips.

Emily knows a lot about constellations and Ali remembers her telling her all about wanting to join the astronomy club when they had first started high school. She wouldn't let her though. Joining the geek squad was social suicide and there was no way that she'd let Em be dragged down so low in the high school hierarchy.

They had an image to maintain back then.

Emily had reluctantly dropped the topic after that but Alison knows that she couldn't totally phase it out. Every so often she'd mention a weird star fact and Ali would never admit it but it almost always intrigued her. She was rather content with pretending that the latest gossip magazine or whoever was the victim of one of her verbal smack downs that day was worth talking about rather than the amazing stuff in the sky.

Em saw right through her façade though. She knew Alison secretly loved hearing her talk about the stars even though Ali didn't really get it herself.

Alison feels a burning sensation prickling behind her eyes as the first of many tears cascades down her pale cheek. On a typical night like this the old Alison DiLaurentis would not be a sobbing mess looking up at the sky and thinking of Emily Fields.

No.

She would be at parties with CeCe and Noel, having frat guys drunkenly and relentlessly hit on her and college girls envy her charm and good looks.

Her heart aches in the worst way and she finds herself automatically dialling the familiar number of her raven haired friend. The call goes straight to voicemail on the third ring and her heart plummets.

"Hey this is Emily! You know what to do after the beep!" Emily's voicemails plays in Alison's ear and she sighs heavily, looking around at her dark room illuminated solely by the moonlight.

God, she's been alone for so long now. She feels it like a physical force, this loneliness, clawing at her insides, demanding to be felt.

She just doesn't want to be alone tonight.

Only for tonight…

She calls her again and this time she's surprised when Emily actually answers. Alison thought that she wouldn't want to talk to her.

"Ali?" Emily's confused voice jolts her out of her thought riddled mind. Alison clears her throat before she speaks.

"Hey, Em." She greets the girl in the most casual voice she could muster.

"Hey…" Emily drawls uncertainly. She'd just returned from swim practise and the moment she entered her bedroom her phone started ringing. She figured she'd let it go to voicemail but when it rang again she reluctantly dug through her bag to find the device. Alison was the last person she expected to call her. They weren't exactly on the best of terms right now but that didn't mean that she didn't miss her. "Are you ok?" Emily asks after the silence had stretched on for a bit.

It's a loaded question and Alison wants to scream and sob to her that she isn't but she composes herself to give a reply.

"Uh yeah, I was just calling to ask you…" What if Emily doesn't want to come over? God, she's so bad at this 'trying to think of others before herself thing'. She shouldn't pressure Em like that but Emily was slowly distancing herself from Alison and the blonde didn't like that. Lord knows she's probably made the girl even more confused by admitting her feelings to her that night they were alone. They hadn't even addressed the kiss they'd shared (if you can call it just a kiss). "…never mind. It's stupid." Alison suddenly says, reigning in her thoughts as she realizes how selfish she's being, calling Emily to spend the night with her just because she was lonely. "Forget I even called."

"No, what were you going to say?" Emily presses and Alison bites her tongue to retract the lie she was just about to produce. She sighs heavily.

"I was going to ask you…"

"…to come over?" Emily finishes her sentence and Ali's heart flutters.

"Yeah." Alison confirms hopefully. "The sky's clear tonight…and I was wondering if you wanted to come watch the stars with me."

"Ali." Emily breathes out and Alison is unsure what to make of that. She bites her lower lip as she looks down to the street below feeling uncertainty as the silence on the other end of the phone stretches.

"Y-you don't have to." Alison stutters unsurely and she curses her nerves as she tries to stop her voice from trembling.

"I know." Emily's reply is short and Alison's hope plummets as she thinks that's the end of the conversation. "I've got something to do right now but I'll be over as soon as I can."

Alison smiles and thanks the brunette before she shuffles over to her bed and hangs up the phone.

* * *

><p>Two hours later Emily is standing on Ali's doorstep in a blue hoodie and some loose jeans and the blonde is momentarily unable to form words. Emily's long raven hair is a bit messy and softly sways as a cool wisp of wind blows in the night air, so she tucks a strand behind her ear with a sheepish smile on her face and it's the most adorable thing Alison has ever seen.<p>

Emily is so beautiful it literally takes her breath away.

Alison uncharacteristically stutters a soft 'Hi' to Emily who returns the sentiment with a soft smile of her own.

She invites Emily in as she opens the door wider and the brunette shuffles past her, automatically heading for the stairs. Alison catches a whiff of vanilla body mist clinging to Emily's clothing and she finds herself momentarily lost to her surroundings.

"Ali?" Em enquires as she halts on the stairs to Alison's bedroom, waiting for the blonde to follow along. Alison's face flushes – another thing that was uncharacteristic – before she starts making her way up the stairs behind Emily (eyes plastered to the steps for fear she misbalances and embarrasses herself). She feels quite out of her element of control when she's around Emily lately.

"Are you here all by yourself?" Emily asks as she switches the lights on, illuminating Ali's previously dark room. Alison freezes at the doorway as Em makes her way to her bed.

"Yeah…I am." Alison admits in a soft whisper and she sees Emily's eyes harden.

"Ali." She says in that soft reprimanding tone and Alison feels like a child being chastised. "You could have told me." Emily says softly and Alison's body relaxes and she walks over to the bed to sit next to Emily. She glances over to her dresser, unable to look at Emily as she feels embarrassed for bringing her here just because she felt lonely.

"I didn't think you'd come if I did." Alison admits in a hushed whisper with her head down casted and Emily gets a glance of vulnerable Ali and her heart aches. Alison should not be all alone in her house when –A had made her the number one target in Rosewood and assaulted her in her own home not a week ago.

Emily isn't naive. She's still trying to sort through her jumbled 'Ali feelings' and she knows she shouldn't be here because Ali still refuses to tell them about most of the secrets she's keeping but she can't help it. She felt so annoyed with herself when she got that call from Alison and eventually agreed to come over to watch the stars but most of it dissipated the moment Alison opened the door for her and she saw the girl's puffy red rimmed eyes.

She had decided not to mention it. She knew Alison had a knack for manipulation but she didn't think she was doing it this time…but she could be wrong. Alison rarely showed weakness and Emily had never once seen her cry. She felt concerned and immediately wanted to get to the bottom of what Alison really called her here for.

Alison was lonely – she needed comfort, but could Emily really give her what she needed?

"I'll stay." Emily voices and Alison's head immediately snaps up to look at her. "But you'll have to lend me some PJ's."

"Deal." Alison genuinely smiles and Emily thinks she looks so beautiful, red rimmed eyes and all.

After they both changed into some tank tops and loose fitting pyjama bottoms, Emily decides to make them both a little snack and she rushes downstairs. Ten minutes later she's back with some marshmallows and hot cocoa and Ali smiles gratefully as they both sit in the middle of her bed and silently drink.

It's not a loaded silence. Actually, it's one where talking just isn't necessary. When they're finished, Emily takes their empty cups and places them on the table next to Ali's huge cluttered vanity.

Blue eyes locked with brown ones in the mirror and Emily shoots Ali a small smile. It's a smile Alison's seen directed at her so many times yet this time, it's different. It says 'I'm here to protect you'.

Alison feels the butterflies in her tummy swarm again.

She's not used to being protected.

She's always been running, constantly afraid of her own shadow, always trying to be one step ahead of A's mind fuck games. But having Em here makes her feel things she's never felt with anyone else.

Having her fret over her brings a smile to her lips and butterflies flutter in her tummy.

She feels like she's fifteen again and no time has passed and they're having one of those secret moments where Ali can let her guard down around Emily.

She'd never admit it but she likes feeling protected by Emily.

Emily moves back to the bed again and settles beneath the covers, facing Alison who's looking straight at her with those beautiful cerulean eyes. Emily thinks she could get a bit lost in those wondrous pools and she has – quite a few million times in her short lifetime.

"We'll just sleep, I promise." Ali whispers into the silent room and Emily quirks an eyebrow at her blonde friend before a hint of a smirk appears on her lips.

It's the second time Alison's acknowledged that they've made out and it makes Emily a bit smug to know that Ali doesn't quite trust her own self-control around Emily. It's a sort of thrill for her knowing that she has that effect on the blonde.

Alison won't admit it but she loves seeing that coy smirk on Emily's face.

She's changed.

She's not the same Emily Ali left behind.

Ali realizes that they are both total polar opposites.

She's all harsh words, vindictive smirks and insults while Em's all gentle touches, warm smiles and happy endings.

Even in the midst of all of this –A nonsense she was still hopeful that they would all be over this eventually – she's still really big on happy endings.

Ali smiles at her and reaches out to touch her, carding pale fingers through her soft raven hair. Emily's eyes fall shut at the feathery sensation. She likes – loves – this side of Alison so much, this soft side people hardly get to see.

Alison's eyes take in the peaceful look on Emily's face and she smiles. Being on the run for two years really gave her a lot to think about. All of the things that were so important to her back then suddenly weren't that important anymore.

Letting go of her old life was surprisingly easy. The pressure of maintaining the 'Queen Bee' image was exhausting to say the least and although she missed her friends, she didn't really have anything tying her to Rosewood.

Except Emily.

She tried to let her go. She really did.

Her heart though, was another story. It literally ached every night at the thought of not seeing her again so she tried to focus her energy on being one step of –A. But when –A left Emily in that barn she knew she had to intervene. She couldn't stay away any longer.

Emily was the only one that could have dragged her out of hiding. She prayed day and night that –A didn't realize that but it was already too late. When – A got a hold of those diaries and her private feelings for her female friend were revealed, - A now had the upper hand.

Emily was her weakness and –A was smart enough to exploit it.

Alison was so angry with herself for writing those diaries and she was also angry with –A for continuously putting Em and the others in danger. She was so drawn to Emily that sometimes she acted a bit reckless and –A almost found her in the crowd during three of Emily's big swim meets.

She had the option of disappearing forever, to let the whole world continue thinking that she was dead, but there was always this insistent tugging within her that made her risk being found by –A just so she could steal a few more moments with her Emily.

Emily and her gentle touches.

Emily and her shy smiles.

Emily and her naïve outlook on the world.

"What are you thinking about?" She asks quietly, pinning Ali in place with the intensity of her chocolate stare.

"You." Alison whispers honestly, caught up in her thoughts. She hears Emily's breath hitch and sees a bit of affection laced with hurt and mistrust swirling in those dark mocha eyes. Emily shifts slightly away from her touch and Alison's stomach clenches at the sight and she feels horrible that she was the cause of that look.

Those two years have made Emily a lot more confident and sure about herself but there's also the fact that Ali's possibly hurt her beyond repair.

Alison can't deny that knowing other people's deepest darkest secrets made her feel powerful. It gave her control over them and asserted her dominance in high school. It was, after all, something she thrived off of. She was practically raised on secrets so finding them out was like second nature to her.

Alison has regrets.

All those times spent by herself made her rethink every bad thing she's ever done. Her skill of manipulation asserted dominance over people but it also distanced her at the same time. She knows in her heart though that she's changed. She just wishes that Emily could see that – wishes that Emily hadn't given up hope on the good she had seen inside of her all those years ago.

If she could go back in time, she'd slap her younger self silly for ever hurting sweet Emily.

Back then she knew Emily had feelings for her – deep feelings. And she too felt something for the girl.

But she was afraid.

Afraid of what people would think. Afraid of what they would say about her behind her back. Sure she was tough on the outside and to others she seemed like a fortress of insults that could not be penetrated- but that was the opposite. Although she pretended that she didn't care, her self-esteem was easily bruised by what people thought of her back then.

She dismissed any thoughts about her feelings for Emily the same way she dismissed Emily's longing stares and dreamy sighs. It makes her feel awful that she was so mean to the girl back then just because she didn't know or want to admit what she herself was feeling.

She knows deep down that she doesn't deserve Emily.

"I'm so sorry I hurt you to the point that you have to be so cautious around me." Alison whispers regretfully and Emily's eyes flash with hurt and she tears her gaze away from the girl, uncertainty written all over her face as she rolls to the other end of her pillow, physically distancing herself from Alison.

Ali's heart clenches at the sight and after one final glance at Emily, she scoots a respectable distance away, intent on giving her some space – Emily lets her.

The clock on her bedside table tells her it's a little after eleven at night and Alison sighs heavily, nowhere even close to sleep.

Alison almost jumps out of her skin when she hears a soft rustling against her window.

"It's just the tree outside." Emliy's soft voice immediately tries to placate the blonde. Ali gives an imperceptible nod, not sure if Emily saw it.

The wind howling against the surface of the window pane outside gives Alison an eerie feeling, one akin to a night she was asleep in a dingy hotel room and –A had managed to find her.

Her hand instinctively brushes against the scar on her collarbone from that encounter and a soft whimper escapes her lips. She pulls the blanket closer to her body, fisting the bed sheets at her sides in a poor attempt to keep herself together. She closes her eyes and can feel herself shaking so she reopens them. She hasn't really been able to sleep properly since she got back.

She's at her most vulnerable when she's asleep so she never really does it anymore.

She's not sure how long she's been laying on her side, her body reverberating with tension but it's approximately an hour later when Emily's voice breaks the silence of the room.

"Ali." Emily whispers over to her and Alison debates whether or not she should turn around. She gives up after a few seconds and her body instinctively turns around to face the girl.

Emily's already moved a bit closer to her and Alison doesn't hesitate to close the distance between them as she places her head on the same pillow Emily's head is resting on.

Emily's studying Alison's face with an intensity that is so new to the blonde it's a bit frightening. But then the intense look is replaced by a soft one as Emily's fingers brush against Ali's porcelain cheek – it's just a fleeting touch of fingertips against her skin but Ali's eyes flutter shut at the tender contact and most of the tension immediately leaves her body.

Emily's fingers are a bit hesitant as they trace a slow heated pathway from Ali's jawline all the way up to her cheekbone. Her touch is so soft and gentle and Ali's breath is stolen from her lungs when Em gently retraces the path and this time runs her thumb along the bow of Ali's lower lip.

Alison's skin is ablaze at Emily's gentle caress and she couldn't move her body away from the girl even if she wanted to.

"I can't sleep." Emily admits in a soft whisper as she gently retracts her hand from the blonde's face - Ali instantly feels the loss of contact. She can't sleep either.

She opens her eyes to see Emily's gentle eyes still fixated on her and she doesn't think her heart rate could go any faster. She wants to scoot over closer to the girl so that she's right next to her. She wants to stare deep into those mocha eyes and hold Emily's body closer to hers. But she refrains. They're both treading carefully around each other, a bit unsure of how to act.

"Let's go outside and watch the stars." Emily voices eventually.

Alison stares at her like she's crazy. She just thought that earlier they would have wandered over to her window seat and take in the view of the night sky; she didn't think that Emily would want to go outside.

"Come on. It'll be fun." Emily smiles and her eyes sparkle. Alison's instantly reminded of young naive Emily.

"But…A." Alison mumbles in protest and the smile drops from Emily's face as her lips form a thin line and her brows furrow.

"I promise I'll protect you." Emily swears. Those butterflies in Alison's stomach instantly swarm. She swallows thickly. "We won't stay out very long." Emily adds as an afterthought already jumping off of Ali's bed and heading to her closet mumbling about the sleeping bags the blonde still has hidden there.

"Are we really taking the tent with that big gaping hole?" Ali looks at her in slight apprehension.

Emily just shrugs. "It's a perfect night to watch the stars."

* * *

><p>After setting up the tent and their sleeping bags in Alison's backyard, the girls settled on top of their respective sleeping bags and gazed up at the sky through the conveniently torn hole in the tent. Emily's babbling on about a constellation called 'Orion's belt' and Alison's just so totally lost because she can't really sort out the jumble of stars above her head to see the pattern Em's talking about so she gives up after a few minutes.<p>

She voices this to Emily and the girl gives a soft impatient sigh. She takes Alison's left hand in hers, holding it firmly while she points to the pattern of the stars she thinks that Alison's seeing. Her big brown eyes are sparkling with such mirth as she continues her explanation and Ali sighs dreamily as the stars twinkle above them.

Emily turns to Ali with that pearly white dazzling smile and the blonde absentmindedly nods to whatever she just said. She can't really control the emotions she's feeling right now. They're welling up within her and crashing all over her like a tidal wave.

To Alison, Emily's always been beautiful but there's just something even more captivating about the tanned girl as Ali views her beneath the moonlight.

She feels warmth spread through her body as she watches her mermaid gazing up at the stars. She notes the subtle twitch of her eye lids, the fluttery whisper of her eyelashes against her tanned skin, the way her nose would scrunched up just that little bit whenever she smiled, that adorable dimple on her left cheek, those soft red pouty lips…

God, Emily's so beautiful.

Ali wants to kiss her.

Emily giggles and Alison is momentarily brought out of her inner musings.

"What?" She chuckles along with her. Emily's just so unbelievably adorable when she laughs.

"Stop looking at me like that." Emily mumbles, bashfully hiding her face against the crook of the blonde's neck.

"Stop looking at you like what?" Ali giggles, slight panic taking over after Emily's words finally sink in. She was looking at her in a special way? She didn't realize…

"Like…" Emily trails off as she lifts her head to meet Ali's blue eyed stare. Emily's eyes are soft and searching as she tugs her lower lip between ivory teeth. Alison's eyes immediately follow the action and her heart flutters. "Like I'm so amazing I take your breath away..." Emily breathes and Ali freezes.

The air around them suddenly feels charged with her declaration. Alison's now hyper aware of the small distance between their faces and the fact that Emily's still holding her hand between their bodies.

She watches the slight panic and uncertainty fill Emily's beautiful eyes after a few seconds and Ali feels her heart sink. She knows that look – Emily's preparing herself for the worst, thinks Ali's just going to dismiss her statement with a laugh or a degrading comment – but it never comes.

Instead, Ali's lips tilt up into a soft smile and her eyes light up and it leaves Emily's a bit confused. She's encountered this Ali before, it's the girl she knew fleetingly back when they'd have stolen moments together which were never spoken of. It's the same girl she encountered recently when she'd spent the night at Ali's when she had just come back to town and it gives her some hope that Alison is changing – has really changed. It's the same Ali who acknowledged that they had in fact made out – twice.

"You are amazing, Em." Alison admits, placing a trembling hand upon Emily's flushed cheek. She watches as Emily breathes out a shaky wisp of air. "And you do take my breath away." She murmurs lowly and Emily feels the pieces of her heart slowly mending back together as Alison leans forward and gently nudges her nose against hers.

Emily's eyes flutter shut at the tenderness of the action and she lets out a soft gasp when Ali leans forward and brushes a tentative kiss against her lips.

It's enough to crumble Emily's resolve and she leans in, returning the gentle kiss.

Alison's never really kissed anyone like this – all softly and with feelings. But with Emily, she just brings out a soft side no one else could really get out of her.

The boys she dated liked being dominated. Nothing about them was 'soft'.

But Em's different.

Her lips aren't chapped or taste like they've inhaled all the junk food in the world.

They taste like her favourite chap stick – strawberry fusion. They're smooth and _oh so soft_.

Emily's lips move in earnest against Ali's and she sighs against the girl's mouth when Em tilts forward just that little bit so her body presses into Alison's. Her hand slips out of Ali's as she braces herself against her side and Alison's grip on her hips tighten.

Ali could sure get used to this – this feeling of Emily's warm body on hers. She's had enough time to chastise herself for ever taking these gentle kisses for granted. They were, admittedly, her favourite.

When Emily's tongue prods against her lower lip, Ali's lips instinctively part and Emily's tongue languidly traces over her own and _holy fuck_, she almost forgets how to breathe when Emily's moan fills her ear. Emily's vanilla scent is so intoxicating and currently her senses are overwhelmed as a tingle of electricity weaves its way across her skin and straight down her spine.

The blonde's fingers trace uneven paths on Em's sides as they move towards her back and slip beneath her tank top drawing a soft whimper from the girl. The sound literally shoots its way to Alison's core and her body burns with that familiar heat. She has a deep desire for Emily to touch her. She doesn't really care how, she just wants her inside her. She's never experienced something quite as intense as this feeling before and it literally scares her.

She relishes the taste of Emily in her mouth and her hands drift upward and fist in Em's silky raven hair coaxing another moan out of her which is immediately swallowed by Alison's lips.

"Ali." Alison's name leaves Emily's lips in a soft whimper as Alison's hips rock up against Emily's thigh and _fuck_, she needs _friction_ –craves it and Emily does too.

Emily's legs straddle her midsection as she tilts her head and deepens the kiss and this time it's Alison's turn to moan as Emily's talented tongue turns her brain to mush. She thinks that they need to stop before they get too carried away – they have lots to discuss and they're already too carried away as it is and all of her rational thinking is slowly trickling out of her mind.

"Em." She gasps against Emily's lips as the girl rocks into her again, producing that much needed friction. Emily relinquishes Alison's lips as she begins to trail hot open mouthed kisses along Ali's jaw and down her neck. Alison's hips rut against Emily's thigh once more and her face flushes with heat when she feels a gush of liquid pooling in her underwear. She wonders briefly if Emily's wet too and the thought has her moaning as Emily's talented tongue traces wet patterns against her neck.

Ali feels her everywhere and all at once and she think that she's just about ready to explode as Em's fingers dart beneath the hem of her tank top and splays across her stomach. Both their breathing is laboured and Alison's eyes roll to the back of her head as Emily gently sucks on _that_ spot on her neck.

"Em." Alison whimpers again and all she can muster is greedy thoughts as her hands fist in Emily's hair and tugs, bringing her lips back to her own. The kiss is a clash of tongue and teeth and Alison's hands move down Emily's back until they settle possessively in the back pockets of her pyjama pants. Emily groans into her mouth and Alison's legs hook around her waist as she feels Emily's chest pressing against her own.

"We need to stop." Emily breathes out and Alison nods in agreement, forehead sliding against Emily's as their lips fuse once more, claiming each other's moans and _fucking hell_ Alison is _so_ turned on she doesn't think she can be able to stop right now. Emily's keeping pace with her and suddenly the tent is too cramped and overheated and she feels sweat beginning to cling to her skin.

Somehow, Alison manages to place her hand against Emily's cheek and slow her kisses down and Em matches her pace perfectly.

"Emily." Alison groans, eyes tightly clenched. "We really need to talk before we go any further." She gasps against the girl's lips and the brunette nods in understanding, slowing her kisses even more.

"I know." Emily breathes out shakily and Alison leans up to connect their lips once more. Every time Alison told herself just one more kiss she dove back in for another and another and Emily's soft whimpers kept spurring her on.

* * *

><p>Alison's the first to wake up the next morning as her blue eyes slowly flutter open and her gaze settles on the blue sky above adorned with white fluffy clouds. Slight panic overtakes her as she momentarily forgets where she is but a small shift on her sleeping bag draws her attention to the brunette tucked in at her side with her arm draped over the blonde's waist. Emily's face is partially covered by her messy raven hair and she lets out a content little mewling sound when Alison's fingers softly drag through her hair.<p>

They weren't supposed to fall sleep outside. She's thankful it didn't rain otherwise they would have been in some serious trouble. She realizes that this is the first time in a long while that she's actually slept without waking up in the middle of the night with that panicking feeling making her chest painfully constrict. And that was solely due to Emily.

Ali smiles widely at the slumbering girl in her arms as last night's activities flooded back into her mind.

She really isn't sure how they managed to not christen that old tent but she's happy they didn't rush into things no matter how badly her body ached too. She wanted to treat Emily right – they had a lot of things to sort out. She wanted to be completely honest with her (even if that didn't end so well). Emily said she'd be as understanding as possible and Alison had no doubt that she would but she couldn't stop the nervousness from taking over her stomach.

She's done some things she wasn't proud of and Emily's perception of her mattered so much to her that it would break her heart if the brunette sent her away when she finally told her everything.

But she'd obey nonetheless.

Still, she had to do this for Emily, she couldn't leave her in the dark.

If she was to eventually take her out on a date (cue the butterflies, she's a hopeless girl), she had to come clean.

After a few minutes of listening to Emily's soft snoring, Ali's stomach grumbles and she decides to go back to the house to make breakfast. She'd surprise Emily in bed and hopefully apologize for not taking things as slowly as they could have last night even though all they basically did was make out until they fell asleep.

Alison sighs dreamily.

A second later she realizes how she's acting and grimaces at her weird behaviour. Reigning in her mushy thoughts, she presses a gentle kiss against Emily's tanned forehead before she disentangles herself from the girl. After one more glance at Emily's peaceful form, Alison walks back towards her house, a list of breakfast possibilities already running through her mind.

The clock on the wall lets her know it's barely even 9 a.m as she shuffles past it and hurries over to the fridge. She decides to go with toast, scrambled eggs, bacon and orange juice as she opens the fridge door and starts gathering her supplies.

The ringing of her cell phone brings her activities to a halt and she fishes the device of her pocket to see that her dad was already calling.

"Good morning, Al." Mr DiLaurentis greets his daughter and Alison smiles as she places the phone between hear ear and shoulder to begin cracking the eggs into an empty bowl.

"Good morning." She chirps back and her father is a little taken aback by her peppy mood.

"Well, someone sounds like they slept well last night." Her father chuckles and she feels her heart soar at his words as she recalls what happened between her and Emily.

"Yup." She replies cheerily, moving over to slide four slices of bread into the toaster slots.

"That's surprising considering you said you slept terribly at Hanna's the last time you were there."

"No I slept with Em- _Han _let me sleep in her bed with her last night." She lies instinctively, biting down on her lower lip as she curses beneath her breath for almost giving herself away.

"Are you sure about that Al?" Mr DiLaurentis asks and Alison freezes in her tracks again. "Cause I called Mrs Marin when I got home around seven this morning to check on my daughter and was told that she was never there."

Alison blanches at this. "I can explain." she starts but her dad cuts her off.

"Plus I thought we'd been robbed when I found our front door unlocked and our backdoor wide open." He continues in a stern voice and Alison's about to deflect but he cuts her off again. "Now can you imagine my shock when I saw my daughter _actually_ sleeping all cuddled against Emily Fields in a tent resurrected from God knows where?"

"We weren't – we didn't – I mean we didn't do anything _drastic_ but I can explain!" Alison's too flustered to come up with a good excuse so she just splutters the first thing that pops into her mind and her dad chuckles.

"Do you have something to tell me Princess?" Mr DiLaurentis queries and Alison freezes as the nerves take over her stomach again. She's unsure what she and Emily really are at the moment. She wanted to have this talk with Emily and sort out everything before anyone else found out. Alison's instinct is to reply with a quick biting remark but she holds back and instead gives her dad a truthful answer.

"I'll get back to you on that." She mumbles and her dad hums, agreeing so long as she actually formerly introduces Emily to him some time during the week as her official girlfriend.

She almost chokes at this.

"Oh and can you keep the noise to a minimum down there, Al? I can hear those pots and pans clanging all the way from my room." He mumbles before he hangs up the phone and leaves Alison to her thoughts. She's suddenly jolted from her stupor by a dinging noise coming from the toaster and she shuffles over to place the toast on two plates.

After frying the bacon strips and placing them in the plates she fills two cups with orange juice and goes back to scrambling the last of the eggs. She feels utterly embarrassed that her dad caught her in a lie and her stomach flips as she recalls that her dad actually wants to meet Emily.

Formerly that is.

As in formerly introducing her as Alison's girlfriend…

The blonde's heart rate doubles at that and her lips quirk up into a small smile.

Emily Fields as her girlfriend. She could get used to that.

"Ali? ALI!" Emily's voice is panicked and a feeling of dread immediately spikes through Alison's system. She drops the spatula she was holding and races back towards the door leading to the backyard almost crashing into Emily when she reaches the first step outside. "Oh thank God." Emily breathes out and immediately engulfs Alison in a warm hug.

"Em, what's wrong?" Alison whispers worriedly against soft raven hair. Emily just shakes her head, far beyond words at the moment and hugs Ali tighter. Ali can feel the girl's heart drumming insanely fast against her chest as Emily's body shakes against hers. Her arms immediately wrap around her lower back to return the hug.

"You scared me…" Emily mumbles after a long pause. "I…I'm just getting used to seeing you around again. I got worried when I woke up alone."

Alison's heart clenches and she worries her lip between her teeth as Emily shakes in her arms. She knows they have a lot to talk about but she thinks she's ready. She's going to trust Emily with everything that she knows and she's determined to earn her trust back little by little. She squeezes Emily back in reassurance.

She doesn't want to risk losing the girl or what they have. She doesn't think she's worthy of a person like Emily who has such a big heart and always sees the best in people but she'll be damned if she isn't going to try. Alison heaves a sigh as she pulls back in Emily's arms to look up at worried chocolate eyes. She leans forward; placing her palm against Emily's cheek as she gently brushes a kiss against Emily's lips.

"Good morning, beautiful." She whispers against soft lips and it works in getting Emily to smile.

"Good morning." Emily greets the blonde, squeezing her tighter against her body. "Mmm it smells really good in here." Emily hums and Ali chuckles a bit.

"It's all for you." Alison grins up at Emily as she tilts her head a bit and her blue eyes sparkle and Emily feels her heart inflate because Ali is being too adorable right now.

"Ali, you didn't have to."

"I wanted to." Alison promises as she takes Em's hands in hers and places a gentle kiss against her knuckles. Emily's face flushes. Alison can see the absolute adoration in Emily's eyes and her heart inflates and simultaneously deflates as she thinks of what their talk later that day would entail. "I promised you I'd tell you everything and I will. Soon" Alison replies and Emily nods, burying her head against the crook of Ali's neck as Alison holds her close.

They may not be the perfect couple. Hell, Alison knows she has so many flaws but if Em is willing to look past all of those cracks then she needs to at the very least be honest with her.

Emily deserves the best and Alison is going to give her that one way or the other.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading my first Emison one-shot.<strong>

**Hope I did the two justice...I'd like to know if this was any good. I've never written for this pairing before.**

**And to my friend 'Epic', (lol) I'm still awaiting your Emison one-shot ;)**


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